Don't be alarmed if you see a couple of warships in Hamilton Harbour next week.

It's purely a friendly visit.

From Sept. 18-21 Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Ville de Québec will be docked at Pier 8 as part of a 10-week tour of 14 Canadian and American cities along the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes. It will be joined by the smaller American USS Hurricane, a cyclone class patrol ship.

The Royal Canadian Navy says the visit will give people the opportunity to tour the warships and see the role they play in national security.

The Ville de Québec was commissioned in 1993 and is one of 12 Canadian-built Halifax Class frigates in the Royal Canadian Navy. Most recently it has been used for fisheries patrol in the Grand Banks of Newfoundland.

Among its international missions, the Ville de Québec escorted food-carrying cargo vessels between Mombasa, Kenya, and Mogadishu, Somalia, in 2008.

The Hurricane was commissioned in 1993 in the U.S. Since November 2001 the ship has been operated under US Coast Guard control for homeland defence.

Officials say the visit is also an opportunity to remember the War of 1812, two centuries ago this year and how Canada and the U.S. have developed a lasting friendship since then.